The Joko Experience


'Lisa Goldman-Carney Lisa Goldman-Carney

Whether or not there is an economic “long boom,” there is no such thing as stasis in the technology business: it is an ecosystem in which a company is either growing or dying. Technology is a force of nature, as evidenced by the ongoing, viral spread of the Internet and communication technologies across the planet. This it is not merely the result of globalization-minded multi-national corporations trying to foist high-tech products on the developing world. There is a legitimate debate about whether computers should be ‘pushed’ on the world’s poorest people. Technology is not food or water, and cannot in itself address the basic health concerns that threaten so many lives.

The Joko experience has been one of absolute “pull.” In villages across Africa, people know of and want Internet access and training. They see it as the key to future prosperity, and as a means of participating in the greater world for those who cannot or will not expatriate. Even the most remote populations are finding out about the Internet, through their expatriate family members, the spread of cybercafes, word-of-mouth and through other media. And while it may be true that the Internet has been co-opted by commerce, this only seems to make its appeal stronger to the disenfranchised poor who hope that by mastering and participating in new technologies, they can transform their economic realities.

When Youssou N’Dour, the celebrated Senegalese musician, asked me and colleague Adama Sow to co-found the Joko project in 2000, our challenge was to find a way to channel the interest generated by his international stardom to make the opportunities of the Internet accessible and relevant to Africans. In Wolof, a widely-spoken native language in Senegal, the word joko means ’connection’ or ’union’. Joko developed a plan to foster the capability for African populations to participate in a self-generated online community where they can create their own content and applications, rather than only consuming media and applications produced elsewhere—in the belief that the best way to achieve a significant Internet development capacity is with independently sustainable enterprises that spread on a grassroots basis. In other words, the communities themselves must engage on an entrepreneurial level.

Since their inauguration, the JokoClub pilots have been generating revenues sufficient to cover their operating costs—in itself, operational sustainability was a major goal of the Joko pilot. Now, with the pilot experience demonstrating the feasibility of achieving business sustainability, Joko is developing a strategy to enable JokoClubs to cover the full capital costs of future development. This business perspective is in sync with the growing awareness of African politicians and entrepreneurs that private investment, rather than continued dependence on aid, are necessary to break Africa’s cycle of poverty.

In this spirit, Joko is a project that aims to achieve social objectives in a for-profit environment. Joko was initiated as a non-profit project under the auspices of Youssou N’Dour’s YND Foundation in October 2000. In January 2001, however, Joko restructured as a Senegalese private enterprise, applying a model of community ownership, to engage the entrepreneurial energy of the communities themselves toward achieving sustainability. Joko International, S.A.R.L. was formed to direct and develop Joko on an international level. Joko S.A. is the operating company within Senegal, with the mission of creating sustainable networks of community-owned computer clubs and supporting Internet services locally. HP provided resources in the pilot phase for Joko to create an infrastructure. As Joko‘s ongoing technology partner, HP will help to develop and test pilot applications and technology solutions specifically for the developing world as needs emerge from Joko and other HP pilot projects in South Africa, Brazil and India.

Without doubt, Youssou N’dour’s star power was a factor in attracting HP support, as well as widespread media attention within Senegal and the notice of new international partners. Does this mean that similar projects worldwide should immediately seek a celebrity endorsement? Only if it comes with a true strategic commitment. In the case of Joko, it is Youssou’s personal engagement in the project that matters most. Like any start-up Internet undertaking, Joko requires constant strategic evolution as it seeks to achieve its social and economic goals. Because Joko is Youssou’s brainchild, he is involved in key decision-making and development on a weekly or daily basis. A mere endorsement could not keep pace with the demands of an ambitious scope of work.

In August 2001, the Joko pilot was launched: an urban JokoClub in the Medina district of Dakar, a rural JokoClub in the village of N’Goundiane (near Thiés) and a community/ local content website, www.joko.sn. In the first months of 2002, two additional Joko training centers were opened in Thiaroye and Kolda, and additional centers are being prepared for launch in Ziguinchor, Tambacounda, Saint-Louis, and on a regional basis throughout Senegal . Joko is licensing existing cybercafes as Joko-Clubs, as well as building new JokoClubs in areas not yet served by cybercafes, with the aim of having at least 50 JokoClubs across Senegal by the end of 2002.

To date, in its limited rollout, Joko has successfully introduced more than 3,000 people to the Internet, of whom nearly 15% were illiterate. The early results are clear: these disenfranchised men and women, young and old, are finding they can better manage their personal and business affairs using basic computer applications. Many of these same people would have previously said that literacy and educational achievement were beyond their reach, but while learning to use the computers they are gaining basic literacy and math skills without even realizing it. By the time they recognize what they are learning they are well on their way to developing new skills, and their own capabilities for learning and changing their lives have been reinforced.

Joko’s expansion through licensing a network of cybercafes—whether entrepreneurial start-ups or community-owned GIEs—will offer certified training materials, management and technical advice, a central platform for email and local content, national/regional promotions and name recognition, and other applications as they are developed, at a nominal cost. Rather than attempting a classic franchising model, in which the franchises pay high fees, Joko is trying to create a network of independent and sustainable affiliates. This is essential, as the real opportunity to achieve viability and sustainable growth will come with scale. Joko’s development initiatives show international partners and local government agencies alike start to become interested in offering customized applications and services when a minimum of 50–100 access points are available.

Differentiated applications—such as e-government and e-commerce platforms—could stimulate local economic transformation. With $5 billion flowing annually to Africa from expatriates working overseas to support their families, there is a significant capital flow to spur private investment in the region if the grassroots demand and capacity can be demonstrated. Localized services will make new information and communication technologies relevant for Africans and for others in developing economies. These applications must be developed by local players who understand and can address the real needs of local communities, and who have development costs/prices that fit within the local economies.

Changing Lives

“The rich person is the one who says: ‘I am going to do it’ and does it. The poor, in contrast, do not fulfill their wishes or develop their capacities.” A poor woman in Brazil.

(Voices of the Poor, The World Bank)